Father accused of leaving son in car at mall to shop

A father is in jail because of what police say he did with his son at Memorial City Mall.

Police say the little boy was left alone inside a car with a beer as his father went shopping inside the mall.

At just 18 months old, little Kingston obviously didn't know the seriousness of the situation. He found SkyEye HD amusing, even pointed to it. And then there's his grandfather, Robert Townsend.

"That is my baby. I'm going to kill that [expletive]," Townsend said.

It was the first Townsend had heard about what happened at Memorial City Mall Friday afternoon. Houston police say the toddler's father, Charles Villegas, pulled into the fire lane in front of Dillard's, left the keys in the ignition, car running, windows down and left Kingston behind.

"If you're a parent, you should know not to do that," one mall shopper said.

And it gets worse. Eyewitnesses told police the little boy was holding a half-empty can of beer, and some of it had spilled on his shirt.

"Wow! I don't know what to think about that," another mall shopper said.

And the Townsend didn't know what to think either.

"What's wrong with the that boy?" Townsend said.

Villegas was arrested and charged with child endangerment. A few weeks ago, Townsend says he was involved in a drive-by shooting while driving his car.

"I spent almost $10,000 getting my car fixed," he said.

And this is the last straw.

"I gave him too many chances. And leaving my baby in a car by himself, that's it," Townsend said.

Villegas has a criminal record that includes assault, theft and burglary.

Meanwhile, Kingston is safe with his mother, who like his grandparents, also didn't know what exactly had happened. ___________________________________________________________